By Anil - Oct 29, '02
October 29 2002

All roads in Kolkata will lead to Eden Gardens tomorrow as the largest cricket ground in India and in the world, with an official capacity of 100,000 screaming fans (unofficially many more), hosts the third and final India-West Indies Test. To experience the true magic of cricket, there is no better atmosphere in the world than Eden Gardens, the magnificent cricket ground in Kolkata.

The huge Eden Gardens campus envelopes, apart from the cricket ground, an indoor cricket stadium, two indoor sports complexes and the All India Radio building. The area is ample enough to include a park, a pond and a pagoda.

Exhilarating to the Indian cricketer and fan alike, and completely intimidating to a touring team, it is the favorite place of many a top international cricketer.

Cynical opposition cricketers have left the ground with their egos crushed. Charlie Griffith, as macho as they come, ran in with tears streaming down his cheeks, convinced that the crowd was after him to avenge Nari Contractor's injury! Mike Gatting faced jeers as he vainly tried a reverse sweep. As did Bill Lawry when he hit a stationary ball that had slipped out of Rusi Surti's hands.

Yet the same Gardens crowd warmed to the appeal of Tony Greig. As the big frame of Greig went down on its knees with hands folded, the gesture moved each and every one present. When Asif Iqbal walked back to the pavilion after a freak runout dismissal, the crowd to a man realized that he was walking out of Test cricket for ever. The huge gathering rose as one, and not a sound was heard. And as the despondent figure receded, a thunderous applause went up that shook the coliseum to its foundations. Eden Gardens went into raptures when Steve Waugh gestured to the umpires that while taking the catch, his heel had touched the boundary rope. Nasser Hussain was awestruck when he experienced, for the first time in his long career, the ambience of the true home of cricket.

The last time a Test match was played here, patrons of this ground were witness to the biggest turnaround victory in the history of Test cricket, and by popular consensus the greatest innings ever by an individual batsman -- that epic second innings 281 by VVS Laxman after being asked to follow on by the most powerful bowling attack in the world, Australia, to help India win by a big margin!

This time, the series is decided and the opposition weak, yet a 70,000-strong crowd is expected in Eden Gardens to cheer on their favorite son Sourav Ganguly in his quest to clean sweep the series and achieve one of his unfulfilled dreams: a Test century at his home ground.

Every shot to the boundaries by an Indian batsman will be greeted with a deafening cheer that crushes the spirit of the hapless bowler, and that of the unfortunate fielder who must give chase to the ball as it races along the lush emerald outfield to the ropes. If a West Indian batsman is struck on the pads, the umpire will hear the appeal from every spectator present -- an earth-shaking roar that will put unimaginable pressure on umpire and batsman alike.

And if umpire Asoka de Silva, the culprit in the wrong dismissals of Sourav Ganguly in every innings he has played so far in this series with bad LBW decisions, were to repeat the mistake here, he will be the target of a mass fury that he is unlikely to have encountered before or ever will in the future. He would be very well advised to be on his toes and give the benefit of the doubt to Sourav whenever he can. He owes Eden this much after handing out so many unfair decisions to their captain.

Tomorrow, Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag and Sourav Ganguly will be chief guests at the biggest cricket party of them all. For the Windies the pressure will be unnerving but, with most of their team never having experienced the unique aura of Eden Gardens, this promises to be an enriching experience in their cricketing careers -- one they are unlikely to forget regardless of who wins.